The NC State men’s basketball started out the ACC Tournament well with a 75-72 victory over in-state rival Wake Forest in the Verizon Center in Washington D.C.
Fresh off a loss to Notre Dame, the Wolfpack (16-16, 5-13 ACC) rebounded to end the Demon Deacons’ (11-20, 2-16 ACC). The two teams had split regular season series. NC State shot 10 of 23 from 3-point range while Wake shot 8 of 24, which proved to be a major difference in the game.
The game was highlighted by a back and forth affair in which neither team could gain an edge. Freshman guard Maverick Rowan came into the game averaging 12.5 points per game, which is third on the team, but ended up finishing with a game-high 24 points, including a stretch in which he hit three 3-pointers in a row. He finished with a season-high six 3-pointers made. Junior Cat Barber chipped in a gritty 22 points in which he was 6 of 6 from the free throw line. Sophomore Abdul-Malik Abu finished just shy of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Demon Deacons refused to go away throughout the second half. Despite opening up multiple leads, the Wolfpack never seemed to be able to close the door on the game, as Wake Forest kept battling back.
The Wolfpack opened up a 7-point lead late in the second half which proved to be the largest lead of the game.
Senior Devin Thomas scored 12 points and 13 rebounds in his final game as a Demon Deacon. Freshman Bryant Crawford showed a lot of promise, he finished the game with 19 points to go along with an incredible six steals and six assists.
The Wolfpack found itself down by one point at the end of the first half, but rallied to outscore the Deacons 42-38 in the second half, including a 15-4 run late in the second half to help build its confidence.
Depth seems to be a key issue for the Wolfpack as only two players were used off the bench and only one saw more than six minutes. In a tournament setting like this where there is a game every day, this may prove to be crucial problem as the games go on.
The Demon Deacons clawed their way back into the game. With the Wolfpack up by five with just over a minute to go, Crawford drove the ball in, gaining an and-1 foul to cut the lead to two. Barber and sophomore Caleb Martin hit crucial free throws within the last minute to help put the game out of reach. The Demon Deacons had three opportunities with fifteen seconds left to tie the game, but all three shots fell short.
The Wolfpack resumes play tomorrow at 2 p.m. against the Duke Blue Devils (22-9, 11-7 ACC). The teams met twice during the regular season, in which the Blue Devils escaped both games with wins. The Wolfpack looks to keep its season alive with a huge upset over the Blue Devils.
